Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Spring/Summer 2005 | Page 18

FEATURE

Looking Back
The name Tribeca was coined by city planners in the ‘60s to
designate the “Triangle Below Canal Street.” It is bordered on the
north by Canal Street, on the east by Broadway, on the west by the
Hudson River and on the south by Vesey Street.
The area is a testament to that fact that life comes full circle.
The area’s history dates back to the late 1700s when this region of
farmland became a residential area for the northward-expanding city
of Manhattan. (A cluster of meticulously preserved original homes
remains on Harrison Street at Greenwich Street.)
In the mid 1800s, the growing city overtook the residential haven,
driving residents out. Eventually, though, the now commercial area
literally could not keep up with itself. It had become too busy and
the newer, larger trucks had difficulty navigating the narrow, clogged
streets. By the 1950s, the area’s success had led to its demise (as
an industrial area anyway). Soon, it was the businesses that were
heading out in droves.
Tribeca became an area of abandoned and neglected industrial
warehouses and low-rise buildings with cast-iron facades – the
perfect haven for “starving artists” looking to escape the increasing
prices in Soho. As more and more artisans moved in, they began to
create a community.
Trendy development
In the last decade, upper-middle-class New Yorkers began
discovering what the artists already knew – that these abandoned
industrial spaces made for fantastic family-sized lofts. Now, the
Tribeca area is one of the hippest areas of New York, from hippie

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“hip” to “hip” with a big price tag. Those gritty old industrial spaces
have now been converted into the most sought-after loft spaces
that are both big in square footage and even bigger in price. Today,
many famous people call Tribeca home but there are lots of regular
folk, too. OK, regular folk with money! According to Albanese, for
those looking to rent, a small one-bedroom apartment goes for
$2,500 to $3,000 (U.S.) a month! A loft with the square-footage
equivalent of a three-bedroom unit rents for more than $6,000 a
month according to the New York Post.
But the locals swear it’s worth it. Tribeca is neither a tourist trap
nor is it overcrowded. Instead, with its narrow, crooked streets
(some of them cobblestone) and its great atmosphere, Tribeca is
simply an honest-to-goodness New York neighbourhood. You will
not find many chain restaurants or stores in Tribeca, which most
would agree is a good thing.
Instead, Tribeca is worth exploring for its uniqueness. According
to Albanese, one of the best things about the many years that
Tribeca lay in neglect is that no one bothered to tear down the old
manufacturing buildings to replace them with soaring highrises. So
today, there are many character-rich, grand buildings to admire.
Along with lofts, many of these original buildings also play home to
some of the other great things about Tribeca - the boutiques, art
galleries, high-end restaurants and bars.
“You looking at me?!”
Perhaps more than the blossoming real estate values, the beautiful
buildings and the great food, the thing that really put Tribeca on the
radar was the Tribeca Film Festival.